It's about that time again for me to shamelessly self-promote. It's a big weekend for the band. We're playing in Everett at Jimmy-Z's on Friday and then on Saturday...

We make our great return to the land of Tacoma for an all-ages show at Club Impact on 9th and Pacific downtown. The show is $8 and doors open at 8. Trans Union, The Jury, Cadaver Graye and Systole are also on the bill. We'd love to see everyone out
on the holiday weekend, including you, Santa.

Mark your calendars for shows in Pioneer Square at the J&M Cafe on Thursday, Jan. 18 and at The Central on Thursday, Feb. 1. And I'm out. Hizzo, hizzo, hizzo.

I'm sure most of you won't be reading the blog today because you're out of power. According to the P-I, "a one-two punch of howling windstorms and heavy rains left at least three people dead and more than 1 million homes and businesses without power... One woman died after being trapped in the flooded basement of her home, while falling trees killed two others."

Nearly an inch of rain fell in one hour at the weather service's north Seattle office, according to the P-I. A record rainfall of 2.17 inches was set in Seattle for the date, breaking the old record of 1.24 inches on Dec. 14, 2002. I believe it. I walked to the post office at lunch yesterday, a two block trek, and I came back into the office looking like I had just gotten out of the shower -- a fantasy for some of the women there, I think.

Many of the people I work with don't have power, and many stayed home to assess damage to their homes. Yikes. Dad said a 45-foot tree nearly missed his neighbor's house as it nailed their porch.

Most of the Eastside is out of power, but behold: the hamsters at my ghetto apartment building in Ballard are still on their wheels and we have electricity. Take that, upper-class Eastsiders. Go keep warm in your 7-series BMW's. You can call me to learn how amazing the hour-long episode of "The Office" was if you can get your cell phones to charge.

“The War on Christmas” is the conservative movement that’s fighting back against those who try to remove the "Christ" in Christmas. I wrote about Bill O’Reilly and Pope “Eggs” Benedict on the frontlines of the war last year, and this year we find, strangely enough, a rabbi maintaining the religious connection to the Christian holiday.

I know I’m a few days late on this story, but it’s too asinine to pass up. Last week, Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky asked the Port of Seattle to add an electric menorah to Sea-Tac Airport’s holiday displays, which includes 14 Christmas trees. After being “stonewalled,” Bogomilsky threatened litigation against the Port for ignoring his request for equal representation. Instead of using common sense and plugging in a $20 menorah next to the trees, the Port took drastic action and removed all 14 Christmas trees -- pissing everyone else off.

On December 11, the Port distributed a news release announcing that it employs a bunch of spineless, politically-correct idiots and would be re-displaying the trees at Sea-Tac.

"This has been an unfortunate situation for all of us in Seattle," said Port of Seattle Commission President Pat Davis. "The rabbi never asked us to remove the trees; it was the Port's decision based on what we knew at the time. We very much appreciate the rabbi's willingness to work with us as we move forward…There's been such an outcry from the public -- from people of all faiths -- who believe that the trees should be reinstalled."

The release said, “A key element in moving forward will be to work with the rabbi and other members of the community to develop a plan for next year's holiday decorations at the airport.” Yeah, or just use some common sense.

We’re still lucky enough this society isn’t so politically-correct that we’re still able to have holiday decorations in public places, so, Port, cover your ass and display a variety of decorations that reflect the major religions Americans subscribe to. There will always be those people who won’t be satisfied with the most honest attempts to appease the library of religions this time of year, but the easiest thing to do is satisfy simple requests. Invoke the holiday spirit by giving instead of taking away.

"I think the whole thing is ridiculous and really out of proportion," Bogomilsky told the P-I shortly before the port made its announcement to reinstall the trees. "People should turn to the Port of Seattle and say, 'Wait a minute, what are you doing? Return the trees and give people the spirit of the holiday back.' Right now, nobody's happy." Merry Christmas.

Dear Charlize,

I read in the Seattle P-I that you’re spending some time in the Pacific Northwest shooting “The Battle in Seattle,” a movie based on the 1999 WTO protests.

As a local Seattleite, I’d be happy to show you around town and can share my memories of WTO to better help you prepare for this role. (I vaguely remember watching the protests on TV and not really caring about it when I was in high school -- invaluable information). Of course, our meeting *cough* (date) does not have to be strictly about business.

I’m sure you’ve already realized that your boyfriend and “The Battle in Seattle” director Stuart Townsend is horrible in his directorial-debut and is therefore an absolute tool. The writing on the wall must have been when he unveiled the movie’s title. Who would name a protest movie after an annual WWU vs. CWU football game? I’d strongly discourage dating co-workers anyway.

So, let’s meet up somewhere downtown. We can go out for dinner and then we can meet up with your costars Andre 3000 of Outkast, Woody Harrelson and Michelle Rodriguez of “Lost” for drinks later on. What do you say?

Cheers,
Paolo

P.S. I wish you would have told me about your nude scene at the Seattle Center beforehand. Nude protesting was an integral part of the WTO event and I would have applied the body paint on you myself to help you achieve a more accurate portrayal.

I had a good weekend. I went on a shopping spree on the company and bought myself an Xbox360... (As always, click picture to enlarge.)

I went to a cocktail party at Kenna's house on Queen Anne (additional pictures via Scott)...

and my band played a fundraiser in Tacoma.